Congolese National Movement

The Congolese National Movement (MNC) is a socialist political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, existing from 1958 to 1965 and again after 1990. The party was founded as a nationalist party in the Belgian Congo, having a strength of 58,000 members by the end of 1959, and its activism led to the Congo being granted its independence by Belgium in 1960. The MNC was a national party instead of a tribal or ethnic party, and its founder Patrice Lumumba formed an alliance with the liberal-conservative ABAKO party in 1960. Lumumba was overthrown by Joseph-Desire Mobutu after he aligned the Congo towards the Soviet Union, and the party was taken over by Antoine Gizenga, who founded the Congo-Stanleyville government in the east of the country. The Stanleyville government was ultimately defeated by the Congo-Leopoldville government, and the MNC was banned under Mobutu's government. In 1990, the party was legalized, with Francois Lumumba leading the party.